Flow control



Oct. 4, 1956 wm so ETAL 3,276,479

FLOW CONTROL Filed April 19, 1965 INVENTORS RICHARD T. WI NDS'OR BY ALVIN LODG Mfi w v United States Patent 3,276,479 FLOW CONTROL Richard T. Windsor and Alvin Lodge, Erie, Pa., assignors to Hays Manufacturing Company, Erie, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Filed Apr. 19, 1965, Ser. No. 449,195 3 Claims. (Cl. 13843) This application is a continuation in part of patent application, Serial No. 698,175, filed November 22, 1957, which issued as Patent No. 3,189,125 on June 15, 1965.

This invention relates to flow controls and, more particularly to flow controls for liquids in conduits which will maintain a generally constant flow rate through the conduit.

In the application referred to, a flow control is disclosed made up of a hollow body with an orifice plate supported at an intermediate part in the hollow body. The orifice plate has a control member made of resilient material supported on the upstream side of it. The control member has suflicient thickness so that it will not be substantially bent when a fluid pressure is exerted thereon. However, the control member will be deformed and the material of the flow control member will be forced into the slot in the face of the orifice plate thereby restricting the flow path through the hollow body.

The present application constitutes an improvement over the said prior application in that a slot is formed in the resilient flow control member itself, and the surface of the orifice plate on which this flow control rests is completely flat. Thus, when the flow control member is deformed, the slot in it will be restricted by longitudinal deformation and the flow will be thereby restricted therethrough. This longitudinal deformation is a more constant characteristic of the rubber than the bending characteristic of other resilient materials. Therefore, a more uniform and accurate flow control can be accomplished herein by utilizing the deformation feature of rubber than was possible with prior devices.

It is, accordingly, an object of the invention to provide an improved flow control device.

Another object of the invention is to provide a flow control device which is simple in construction, economical to manufacture, and simple and eflicient to use.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a flow control device wherein the flow control member is substantially thick and has a slot in it which conducts fluid and which slot is supported over an orifice plate, and the slot will be restricted by longitudinal deformation when the flow control member is subjected to fluid pressure.

With the above and other objects in view, the present invention consists of the combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter more fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawing and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims, it being understood that changes may be made in the form, size, proportions, and minor details of construction without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal cross sectional view of the flow control according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a top view of the flow control member; and

FIG. 3 is a bottom View of the flow control member.

Now with more particular reference to the drawing, the flow control member is made up of a hollow body 10, having an inlet end 15 and an outlet end 16 and a flexible control member 11 therein. The hollow body has a hollow body portion 14 with the orifice plate member 20 threadably received therein. The orifice plate memher 20 has a control surface 13 which defines a shoulder on its upper end. The inlet end of the body 10 is internally threaded at 24 to receive a conventional pipe from a source of fluid to be controlled. The outlet end of the orifice plate member 20 is threaded at 25, and it may receive a pipe connected to a discharge point.

The hollow body portion 14 is counterbored and internally threaded at 26, and the male threaded end of the orifice plate member 20 is received in the counterbore.

The flexible control member 11 is received in the counterbore adjacent the threaded end 24, and the flat end 19 of the control, member is supported on the control surface 13 which defines the shoulder on the upstream end of the orifice plate 20.

The control member 11 is of substantial thickness relative to its diameter so that when a high pressure is exerted on its upstream end 28 by fluid flowing through inlet 15, the control member 11 will not bend but rather the slot 18 will be partly closed by distortion of the resilient material. The fluid flowing through the space 29 between the inside surface of the hollow body and the outside periphery of the control member will flow through slot 18 and through the opening in the orifice plate member 20 to the outlet end 16.

The slot 18 will be restricted an amount proportional to the fluid force on the control member.

The control member 11 has integrally attached axially extending peripherally spaced ribs 31 around its outer edge. These ribs 31 hold the control member generally centered in the counterbore 17 so that the flow control member 11 is supported in the hollow body portion 14 generally concentric to its inside surface.

The upstream end 28 of the control member is shaped generally in the form of a part of the surface of a sphere. The sides of the flow control member '11 are generally cylindrical, and the dowstream end 19 is completely flat and has the slot 18 formed therein. This slot will be closed in proportion to the force of fluid exerted on the upstream end of the control member.

During operation, the flow control will be connected in a fluid line by connecting the line to the threaded openings 24 and 25. When fluid flows through the inlet 15 to the outlet 16, it will pass around the outside of the flow control member to the slot 18. The pressure of fluid on the upstream end 28 of the flow control member 11 will close the slot an amount proportional to the fluid pressure on the upstream end. In other words, the slot will be restricted in inverse proportion to the fluid pressure, thereby maintaining the flow through the hollow body at a substantially constant rate.

The foregoing specification sets forth the invention in its preferred practical forms but the structure shown is capable of modification within a range of equivalents without departing from the invention which is to be understood is broadly novel as is commensurate with the appended claims.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. A flow control unit comprising a hollow body having an inside surface, an inlet, and

an outlet,

a shoulder in said hollow body attached to said inside surface,

said shoulder being in the form of an an orifice plate having a control surface on the upstream side,

an opening defined by said shoulder,

said opening connecting said inlet with said outlet,

said orifice plate having a face within said hollow body,

a control member made of resilient material supported on said control surface,

a radially disposed slot in said control member in the side thereof adjacent said control surface, said control member being of such thickness relative to its width that substantially no bending of said control member will occur when in normal use fluid pressure is exerted on said control member, said control member being deformable by pressure exerted by fluid, longitudinally of the flow control member, against said control member thereby forcing said control member against said face whereby said resilient material of said control member flows and thereby closes said slot thereby restricting the flow passage under said control member and through said radially disposed slot in proportion to the fluid pressure on said control member whereby fluid flow under said control member and through said radially disposed slot is controlled, said face extending outwardly from said control memher to said hollow body defining a space for fluid to radially disposed slot.

2. The flow control unit recited in claim 1 wherein said control member is generally cylindrical in shape and the upstream end thereof is generally in the shape of a part of a sphere.

3. The flow control unit recited in claim 1 wherein said control member has axially-extending ribs attached to the outer periphery thereof,

said axially extending ribs being adapted to hold said control member generally concentric to the inside surface of said hollow body.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,508,793 5/1950 Miller 13843 2,588,555 5/1952 Molloy 13843X 2,957,496 10/1960 Bartnik 138-43 2,989,086 6/1961 Dahl -13843 LAVERNE D. GEIGER, Primary Examiner.

EDWARD J. EARLS, Examiner. 

1. A FLOW UNIT COMPRISING A HOLLOW BODY HAVING AN INSIDE SURFACE, AN INLET, AND AN OUTLET, A SHOULDER IN SAID HOLLOW BODY ATTACHED TO SAID INSIDE SURFACE, SAID SHOULDER BEING IN THE FORM OF AN ORIFICE PLATE HAVING A CONTROL SURFACE ON THE UPSTREAM SIDE, AN OPENING DEFINED BY SAID SHOULDER, SAID OPENING CONNECTING SAID INLET WITH SAID OUTLET, SAID ORIFICE PLATE HAVING A FACE WITHIN SAID HOLLOW BODY, A CONTROL MEMBER MADE OF RESILIENT MATERIAL SUPPORTED ON SAID CONTROL SURFACE, A RADIALLY DISPOSED SLOT IN SAID CONTROL MEMBER IN THE SIDE THEREOF ADJACENT SAID CONTROL SURFACE, SAID CONTROL MEMBER BEING OF SUCH THICKNESS RELATIVE TO ITS WIDTH THAT SUBSTANTIALLY NO BENDING OF SAID CONTROL MEMBER WILL OCCUR WHEN IN NORMAL USE FLUID PRESSURE IS EXERTED ON SAID CONTROL MEMBER, SAID CONTROL MEMBER BEING DEFORMABLE BY PRESSURE EXERTED BY FLUID, LONGITUDINALLY OF THE FLOW CONTROL MEMBER, AGAINST SAID CONTROL MEMBER THEREBY FORCING SAID CONTROL MEMBER AGAINST SAID FACE WHEREBY SAID RESILIENT METERIAL OF SAID CONTROL MEMBER FLOWS AND THEREBY CLOSES SAID SLOT THEREBY RESTRICTING THE FLOW PASSAGE UNDER SAID CONTROL MEMBER AND THROUGH SAID RADIALLY DISPOSED SLOT IN PROPORTION TO THE FLUID PRESSURE ON SAID CONTROL MEMBER WHEREBY FLUID FLOW UNDER SAID CONTROL MEMBER AND THROUGH SAID RADIALLY DISPOSED SLOT IS CONTROLLED, SAID FACE EXTENDING OUTWARDLY FROM SAID CONTROL MEMBER TO SAID HOLLOW BODY DEFINING A SPACE FOR FLUID TO FLOW BETWEEN INSIDE WALL OF SAID HOLLOW BODY TO SAID RADIALLY DISPOSED SLOT. 